


Star Force Episode #108 - The Safe Place

by LicieOIC



Series: Star Force [3]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV), Star Force - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Once Upon a Time Fusion, Gen, Once Upon A Time In Space, Screenplay/Script Format, Script for a Fictional Show, Show within a Show, Star Force
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-23
Updated: 2015-10-23
Packaged: 2018-04-27 15:43:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5054491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LicieOIC/pseuds/LicieOIC
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dr Stiltskin's (Rum Gold) quarters are broken into and some valuables stolen. Commander Leyah (Emma Swan) works with him to find out who did it, but the doctor is more focused on taking care of the problem himself. His rage is a terrifying thing to behold. Just what was taken from him to merit such an extreme reaction? </p><p>Meanwhile, Officer Snow and Lieutenant Charming (Mary Margaret Blanchard and David Nolan) are concerned about their affair becoming public knowledge and Miss Greenie (Zelena West) has something up her sleeve.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Star Force Episode #108 - The Safe Place

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Friendships and Fandoms](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5053462) by [WorryinglyInnocent](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WorryinglyInnocent/pseuds/WorryinglyInnocent). 



> Inspired by WorryinglyInnocent's fic, "Friendships and Fandoms," which takes place on the set of the TV series "Star Force." Characters from Once Upon A Time filming a sci-fi show, her fic is the actors' story and you should DEFINITELY read it to avoid getting seriously confused by this script/fic. This is an episode from Season One of Star Force, the show within Worry's fic. It is a Stiltskin-centric episode, inspired by OUAT's "Skin Deep," so there are some parallels to that episode and some dialogue adapted to fit.
> 
> If you would like to download this story in true screenplay format (the way the "actors" would have seen it!), click here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ouQjYq27Y6hxoOHkgDRRfgUPndvQWiTXP2dfGSKPkC4/edit?usp=sharing

Ep. #: 108

Star Force

“The Safe Place”

 

Written by  
LicieOIC

Directed by  
Cara Mallory

Created by  
WorryinglyInnocent

 

* * *

 SET LIST

 

INTERIORS  
_AURORA BOREALIS_ -

  * MED BAY - Day

  * BRIDGE - Night

  * HALLWAY - Night

  * CREW QUARTERS HALLWAY - Night

  * STILTSKIN’S QUARTERS - Night

  * MED BAY - Night

  * SECURITY - Day

  * OBSERVATION DECK - Day

  * ENGINEERING - Day

  * CHIEF ENGINEER’S OFFICE - Day

  * A DIMLY LIT STORAGE HANGAR - Night

  * BRIG - Day




 EXTERIORS  
DESERT PLANET - Day

 INT/EXT  
FLASHBACK - SOMEWHERE IN TIME

Note: There is no ‘day’ or ‘night’ in space, it’s just a placeholder to know how many extras to hire for the background. The ‘night’ scenes should have less people around.

 

* * *

 CAST LIST

 

Captain Hook - Killian Jones

Commander Leyah - Emma Swan

Lieutenant Charming - David Nolan

Officer Snow - Mary Margaret Blanchard

Dr Stiltskin - Rum Gold

Miss Greenie - Zelena West

Lieutenant Knight - Lance Camelot

Officer Hunter - Graham Humbert

Officer Arendelle - Elsa Snow

Chief Engineer Gus - Billy Mouse

Engineer Walsh - Frank Emerald

Engineer Thomas - Sean Herman

 

* * *

 STAR FORCE  
#108  
“The Safe Place”

 

ACT ONE

 EXT. DESERT PLANET - DAY

The opening scene explodes onto the screen in a rapid fire-fight. HOOK, LEYAH, SNOW, ARENDELLE, HUNTER, and CHARMING are running for their lives through this barren desert planet, dodging and weaving through enemy laser fire, hiding behind various boulders for cover while shooting back and just trying to get the hell out of there. They all have various injuries, but Arendelle and Hunter seem to be the worst off.

CHARMING  
(shouting)  
Go, go!

They move from cover, but Arendelle gets shot in the back and goes down. Charming and Snow rush over to her, their focus on their fallen comrade, but they speak to each other.

CHARMING  
(to Snow)  
I’ve got her, just go!

SNOW  
(to Charming)  
Like hell. I’m not leaving you.

Snow grabs Arendelle’s firearm and uses it alongside her own, covering Charming’s back as he picks Arendelle up and slings her over his shoulder. He is slowed now by his burden, but still manages to fire his laser periodically with his free hand. Snow stays with him all the way, firing twice as much to cover him.

LEYAH  
(to Hook, annoyed)  
You just had to pick a fight  
with the locals, didn’t you?  
Even though the people in question  
have resources we need.

HOOK  
Come on, we can take them!

LEYAH  
(eyeroll)  
Be my guest, I’ll be busy getting the  
rest of us the hell out of here.  
Just don’t expect me to write any weepy  
ballad to commemorate your death.

HOOK  
Alright, alright. How about a little less talk  
and a little more saving our arses.  
You can tell me all about how I  
messed up in debrief.

Hunter get shot and goes down near Hook, who huffs in exasperation as he picks the man up.

HOOK  
Bloody hell. Hunter’s been spending  
too much time in the mess hall.

LEYAH  
You can tell him to go on a diet  
back at the ship.

Leyah takes a page from Snow’s book and picks up Hunter’s firearm to cover Hook’s back. Hook is severely hampered in his ability to aim and fire his weapon, but Leyah covers him well.

A rock explodes from laser fire in the foreground of the shot.

SMASH CUT TO:

Opening Credits

FADE TO BLACK.

SMASH CUT TO:

INT. _AURORA BOREALIS_ \- MED BAY - Day

A flurry of activity as Charming and Hook carry in Arendelle and Hunter, placing them on empty beds in the med bay. DR STILTSKIN follows close behind, already scrubbed up and ready to work. Leyah goes to the panel near the door and presses the com.

LEYAH  
We’re all on board, punch it!

CUT TO:

EXT. DESERT PLANET - Same time

SHOT OF the _Aurora Borealis_ taking off from the desert planet and speeding into the atmosphere.

CUT TO:

INT. MED BAY - Immediately following

Snow enters the med bay last and joins Charming and Hook who are leaning against another empty bed, breathing hard, clearly exhausted.

Snow and Charming share a covert look and, unseen by the others, Snow briefly takes Charming’s hand and gives it a squeeze. She lets go when Leyah looks at her as she crosses the room to the beds where Stiltskin is setting up blood transfusions and trying to work with both patients at once.

LEYAH  
(to Snow)  
That was tricky at the end there.  
Thanks for notifying the flight  
crew over your com.

STILTSKIN  
(without looking up)  
Yes, always good to have a head’s up  
that someone might die.

He looks up at Leyah, who has joined him on the opposite side of the bed and is setting up Hunter’s blood transfusion.

STILTSKIN (CONT)  
What do you think you’re doing?

LEYAH  
Helping. It’ll go better with two of us.

STILTSKIN  
Why, Commander, I had no idea  
you’d completed a doctorate.

LEYAH  
(annoyed)  
I have field expertise.  
You’re not gonna be able to work  
on both of them at the same time!

Stiltskin clearly sees the logic in her statement, but he doesn’t have to like it. He gestures at the wash station.

STILTSKIN  
Fine, fine, go scrub up,  
but don’t get in my way!

She doesn’t wait to be told twice. The camera follows Leyah to the wash station as Stiltskin continues to work on his two patients. CLOSE ON her hands as she removes the rings she’s wearing, then hesitates before also removing HENRY’S SHOELACE from her wrist. She places all these in her pocket before scrubbing up.

DISSOLVE TO:

MONTAGE of Stiltskin and Leyah working on Arendelle and Hunter for an extended period with Stiltskin doing most of the heavy work and Leyah monitoring the progress, but she also does first aid on Snow, Charming, Hook, and herself. The montage continues after Snow, Charming, and Hook have departed the med bay, lots of closes on Stiltskin’s face as he works intensely, his focus sharp as a needle.

Finally --

CUT TO:

INT. BRIDGE - Night

Doors to the lift open to allow both Stiltskin and Leyah onto the bridge. They both look extremely tired. Everyone turns to look at them expectantly.

STILTSKIN  
(sighs)  
They’ll live.

General sighs of relieve and quiet but happy exclamations. Hook leans back in the captain’s chair, satisfied at a job well done, but of course, he wouldn’t admit that to Stiltskin.

HOOK  
(to Stiltskin)  
Well, I guess it’s not totally  
useless having you on board.

Stitlskin doesn’t really react, he’s becoming used to Hook’s prejudice against aliens. Hook smiles at Leyah as she sits heavily in the commander’s chair.

HOOK (CONT)  
Well done, luv.

She eyes him. We all know how she feels about him calling her that. She reaches into her pocket and replaces her rings and begins retying the shoelace around her wrist.

LEYAH  
You should get some rest, Doc.  
You definitely earned it.

CUT TO:

INT. HALLWAY - Minutes later

Stiltskin is making his way tiredly toward the quarters section of the ship. He stops when a familiar voice calls to him--

FEMALE VOICE  
Well, there’s our hero.

Stiltskin briefly closes his eyes to pray for strength then turns to face MISS GREENIE. She is leaning against a nearby door frame and smiling, dressed to kill, as usual, since her position as Diplomatic Officer grants her freedom in her wardrobe.

She sidles over to him with a seductive sway of her hips.

MISS GREENIE  
I heard you saved not just  
one, but two lives today.  
What would the _Aurora Borealis_  
ever do without you?

Despite this being the praise that he didn’t get on the bridge, Stiltskin just wants to be anywhere but near her.

STILTSKIN  
News travels fast. Excuse me.

He tries to brush past her, but she dances around to get in his way again.

MISS GREENIE  
Would have loved to be a fly on the wall.  
I bet you’re amazing when you work.

STILTSKIN  
Just doing my job, Miss Greenie.  
Nothing more.

He steps around her, but she follows, trotting after him.

MISS GREENIE  
Actually, I’ve been looking for an  
opportunity to talk to you.

STILTSKIN  
And the moment you have something  
I want to discuss, I’m sure  
we’ll have that chat.

She gets in his way again, pouting.

MISS GREENIE  
Stiltskin… You’re not being fair.

STILTSKIN  
Life isn’t fair. Get used to it.

He moves off and this time, she doesn’t try to stop him, but she clenches her jaw and narrows her eyes at his retreating back. Oh yes. She’s got something up her sleeve. Miss Greenie struts away in the opposite direction.

DISSOLVE TO:

INT. CREW QUARTERS HALLWAY - Continuous

Stiltskin sighs heavily and runs a hand through his hair as he approaches the door to his quarters. He is tired, so when he sees the door ajar, the security panel next to it buzzing and sparking, he stares at it for a second before comprehending what happened.

He shoulders open the glitching door and rushes inside.

CUT TO:

INT. STILTSKIN’S QUARTERS - CONTINUOUS

The room is ransacked. He stares in shock at everything, the covers on the bed are pulled up, the mattress is askew, it’s clear someone has looked underneath it, his desk drawers are all pulled open and the contents strewn on the desk and floor, his dresser is in a similar shambles, books are pulled from the bookcase and flung about the room.

He takes this in, then something bigger occurs to him. He makes a beeline for the shelf above his desk. Set apart from everything else on the shelf is a pretty little glass dish with a low rim. It doesn’t look like something Stiltskin would have decoratively on display, it looks important somehow.

It is definitely important to him at any rate. He can see that it is empty, but he puts his hand into it anyway and feels around. He grows more and more upset by the second.

STILTSKIN  
No… No!

He is breathing like he’s run a mile (Rum: flare your nostrils, if you can). And then we see the switch flip. He goes from upset to outrage, the anger welling up inside him like a volcano. With a cry of fury, he sweeps what is on his desk onto the floor and storms out of the room at a run.

CUT TO:

INT. BRIDGE - Minutes later

Everyone looks up in surprise as Stiltskin storms back onto the bridge - they’d all expected him to be sleeping. He looks like sleep is the last thing on his mind as he gets right up in Hook’s face, an intimidating thing with Stiltskin leaning over him while he sits in the captain’s chair.

STILTSKIN  
(murderously angry)  
Alright, where is it? I know it was you!  
What did you do with it?!

HOOK  
Whoa, hold up there, mate!

LEYAH  
(at the same time)  
Doc, what the hell?

STILTSKIN  
WHERE IS IT?!

Hook stands up, coming to his full height, which dwarfs Stiltskin, but the doctor doesn’t care.

HOOK  
Look, you better calm yourself before I--

Stiltskin looks ready to throttle the man.

STILTSKIN  
Before you what?

Leyah deliberately steps between them, holding her hands up to Stiltskin as if to calm a wild animal.

LEYAH  
Doc. Calm. Down. What happened?

Stiltskin’s eyes are still on Hook for a long beat. Then he exhales slowly and focuses on Leyah, speaking in a low, measured voice with exaggerated calm.

STILTSKIN  
My quarters were broken into.  
The whole place was ransacked. My--  
(he glares at Hook)  
Some valuables were taken.

HOOK  
Hate to break it to you, but it wasn’t me, mate.  
After Leyah patched me up, I came up here.  
And I’ve got my report on the hostiles and  
firefight to prove it.

SNOW  
(pipes up from her station)  
It’s true. We’ve been preparing the  
report to enter into the log.

HOOK  
(grinning)  
I guess this time paperwork covered  
my arse in more ways than one.

Stiltskin is still not entirely convinced, mostly because believing it to be Hook would be easy and convenient, but Hook’s alibi absolves him. Stiltskin stares Hook down, seething. Leyah dodges into his eyeline deliberately.

LEYAH  
Doc? Doc!

He blinks, refocuses on her.

LEYAH (CONT)  
Look, you’re exhausted, I am too.  
You’re not thinking clearly.

STILTSKIN  
Oh, I am thinking plenty clearly.

LEYAH  
I get that you’re upset--  
(at his look)  
\--to say the least. I’ll look into  
the matter personally, alright?

STILTSKIN  
When?

LEYAH  
Tomorrow.

He goes to leave the bridge, her answer clearly not good enough for him, but she grabs him by the arm, stopping him.

LEYAH (CONT)  
Doc! Do you really want to do this now  
when we all need a good night’s sleep,  
or later when we’re rested and  
more likely to catch whoever did it?

Stiltskin considers for a beat, mentally cursing Leyah’s logic and still not happy with the situation, but--

STILTSKIN  
Fine.

He shakes off her hand and stalks off the bridge.

CUT TO:

INT. MED BAY - Minutes later

Stiltskin stalks into med bay. For a moment, it looks like he’s going to check on his two sleeping patients, but he merely retrieves a small bottle and a medical injection gun from below the bed, and stalks out.

CUT TO:

INT. STILTSKIN’S QUARTERS - CONTINUOUS

Stiltskin muscles his door shut and we hear the lock lazily winch into place. He’s relieved that it still works, though the panel outside is an obvious problem that will have to be fixed.

He shrugs out of his lab coat, leaving him in his standard blue embellished medical officer uniform, and sits down on his bed after tugging the mattress back into place. He fits the bottle into the injector - among the medical jargon on the bottle, we see ‘SEDATIVE’ typed on it - and injects himself in the arm through his clothes.

He lays down and we can see on his face that he’s still thinking about the theft and that if he hadn’t just sedated himself, there’s no way he would have been able to sleep.

As his eyes begin to drift closed, we PAN DOWN from his face to his left hand resting on his chest. His thumb restlessly moves against his fingers in a twitching motion.

FADE TO BLACK.

 

END OF ACT ONE.

 

* * *

ACT TWO

 INT. SECURITY - Day

Stiltskin and Leyah enter the security ward, looking bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and ready to get to work. Leyah sits at one bank of monitors, all showing various sections of the Aurora Borealis in live feed. Stiltskin remains standing, too full of nervous energy to sit.

LEYAH  
Alright. All we gotta do is find the  
security feed from the hallway last  
night and this should solve itself.

She types into the computer and brings up the archived footage. In the corner of the shot is a label ‘Quarters II’ and a running clock, showing the time. There are some nondescript crew members periodically walking through the hall in the video.

LEYAH (CONT)  
Here we go. Quarters two.

Stiltskin taps the screen, indicating a door near the foreground of the shot on the right side.

STILTSKIN  
There. That’s my door.

LEYAH  
Alright. Let’s look at last night, while  
we were busy in med bay.

It seems simple as she plugs a time signature into the footage, but the tape goes into static shortly after she brings up the right timeframe.

STILTSKIN  
What happened?

LEYAH  
The feed, it’s… gone. Deleted.

STILTSKIN  
Someone in here--?

LEYAH  
No, it’s hardcoded into the archive system.  
Someone would have to go into the  
data stream directly and delete the  
lines of code manually. Security computers  
don’t have that access, it’s basically  
just a catalogue of the vid footage.

STILTSKIN  
Then, who does have access?

Leyah ponders this for a moment, then inspiration dawns.

LEYAH  
Engineering. They’ve got more advanced  
computer tech down there, and the  
know-how to get behind the system.

The camera PANS IN to Stiltskin’s face as Leyah continues to talk.

LEYAH (CONT)  
Okay, then we’ll set up interviews with  
engineering. Someone must know something.  
There’s always some kind of data signature  
that could show what computer deleted  
the code. We might get a lead there,  
or at least narrow down the suspects…

Stiltskin is not listening. It’s clear from his expression that he knows something, but he says nothing to Leyah. He wants to get his hands on the thief personally. Leyah, meanwhile, has noticed Stiltskin’s inattention and gently shakes his arm.

LEYAH  
Doc? You alright?  
(encouraging smile)  
Don’t worry. We’ll get him.  
I’ll find out who did this.

STILTSKIN  
I’m sure you will. Assuming  
you find him before… well, bad things  
tend to happen to bad people.

Leyah stares at him, used to quips from Stiltskin by now, but he seems so serious. After a beat, the mask of manic energy drops back into place.

STILTSKIN (CONT)  
Just an observation, commander.

And with that, he exits, but as soon as he is turned away from Leyah, the mask disappears, revealing an intensely focused man, radiating malevolence. MUSIC CUE: Something’s Going Down.

CUT TO:

INT. MED BAY - Same day

Stiltskin swaggers into the med bay and casually checks on Arendelle and Hunter. He moves with purpose. Arendelle and Hunter are much improved by now (we hear nothing, their interactions are silent as the music swells, covering any ad libbed dialogue).

We see Stiltskin tilting his head back and forth, shaking his curls, we can tell he’s making his usual quips, but when the patients aren’t watching him, the camera focuses on Stiltskin’s face and we can see that he is actually ambivalent towards his patients. He doesn’t care how they’re doing, he is on a mission, moving with calm, cold detachment.

He checks their equipment and monitors how much of the fluid drip has been ingested, but it’s a cover for his true purpose. He retrieves another bottle and injector gun from beneath the beds. The bottle is identical to the sedative he used on himself. He also collects a thick rag, medical tape, and straps which look like the kind used in asylums to hold a patient onto their bed. To Arendelle and Hunter, it looks like the doctor is just gathering supplies, nothing really important, but to us-- Yeah. Ominous.

The music cue comes to a climax, then shimmers out.

FADE TO BLACK.

FADE IN:

INT. OBSERVATION DECK - Same day

MUSIC CUE: Snowing.

The observation deck is a common area off the mess hall for crew members to relax, read, play holo-chess, or just watch the stars move past. Snow and Charming are standing at the bank of windows, two arm lengths apart as if to prove to whomever might see them that they are definitely not there together.

SNOW  
(sad sigh)  
I miss trees.

CHARMING  
Pretty sure the holodeck has some  
nice forest programs…

SNOW  
No… Well, yes, it does, but they’re  
not right. It’s the birds. They can never  
really capture the spontaneity and  
joy of the birds’ songs.

A pregnant pause. The scene is cut in such a way that it looks as though they are standing next to each other, making the audience forget that they are standing apart.

SNOW (CONT)  
James, what’re we gonna do?

CHARMING  
(sighs)  
I don’t know.

SNOW  
We can’t keep sneaking around.  
Someone will catch us eventually.

CHARMING  
I know… I just…

SNOW  
I know. “I just” too. But you’re  
still married.

CHARMING  
(frustrated)  
To a woman a galaxy away who  
doesn’t even care. Being so far from  
home, cut off from everything like  
we are, it really puts it all in perspective.  
Makes you rethink every life choice  
that brought you to this point. Kathryn  
and I… we were over before I ever met  
you. I just needed you in order to admit it.

A beat as they gaze at each other longingly, but Charming’s frustration returns a moment later.

CHARMING (CONT)  
But even if I filed for a divorce in  
absentia, it wouldn’t be legal until we  
returned home. At the very least, we’d  
have to get in contact the Force Base  
to get the legal stuff started.

SNOW  
And they’re busy with the politics  
over the wormhole.

CHARMING  
(scoffs)  
I can see my request going to the  
bottom of a pile of paperwork. Who  
knows how long it’ll take.

SNOW  
Meanwhile, everyone here will think  
I’m sleeping with my commanding officer  
to further my career.

In the background behind them, Stiltskin walks past. A small commotion, which Charming and Snow turn to see, as some minor officer bumps into Stiltskin, causing him to drop a few of his restraints. We don’t hear what Stiltskin says to the officer, but it is clearly scathing as the man scuttles away.

The camera shifts back to Charming and Snow, watching Stiltskin pick up his supplies.

CHARMING  
We’re lucky he didn’t hear us.  
Going on about divorce and such,  
he’d tear me a new one.

SNOW  
Why? Stiltskin doesn’t seem the  
type to care about extra-marital affairs.

CHARMING  
You don’t know him. He’s got a  
wife back home, too.

SNOW  
Yeah? Is she… you know.

Charming doesn’t know. Snow wiggles her fingers near her face, though how this is supposed to illustrate Stiltskin’s ‘scales’ is something only she knows.

SNOW (CONT)  
(whispering)  
Like him.

CHARMING  
(gets it)  
Oh! No. She’s… like us. Human.

Snow looks at once impressed and surprised and a little confused. What any human female would see in a prickly character like Stiltskin is beyond her.

SNOW  
Really?

CHARMING  
Yeah. He’s incredibly devoted to  
her, too.

SNOW  
How’d you find out about her?  
Are you guys meeting up for  
secret poker nights or something?

CHARMING  
(chuckles)  
No, he’s about as anti-social as  
they come. But every once in awhile,  
when he gets lonely, he sits down  
and gets himself stinking drunk.  
Turns out, he’s rather chatty when  
he can hardly see straight.

A beat as they watch the doctor head out of the observation deck.

SNOW  
(wistfully)  
He must really love her.

And thus we are served our theme. Stiltskin’s love for his wife seems just as hopeless as Snow and Charming’s affair, out here in the black. They turn back to the window and stare at the stars, at the endless distance. Their future seems pretty bleak from all sides.

SNOW (CONT)  
I thought if two people were meant  
to be together, they’d find a way.

CHARMING  
I’m not giving up. We’ll find that way.

SNOW  
I hope so.

A shot of them watching the stars as in the beginning of the scene. The distance between them is glaring. They seem more far apart than ever.

DISSOLVE TO:

INT. ENGINEERING - Same time

Shot from a distance, Leyah is talking to CHIEF ENGINEER GUS, a somewhat built young man wearing the gold embellished uniform of engineering. Their interaction is silent, all we hear is the pulse of the warp engines and the hum of machinery, but we are able to guess that Leyah is explaining what happened. Gus nods, signalling his cooperation in the investigation and gestures off.

DISSOLVE TO:

INT. CHIEF ENGINEER’S OFFICE - Minutes later

Leyah and Gus are interviewing different members of engineering with various levels of success (all silent). We MATCH THIS to--

INT. ENGINEERING - Same time

The angle changes so we see who has been observing Leyah’s progress in engineering. From outside Gus’s office looking in through the window from across Engineering, OFFICER THOMAS and OFFICER WALSH, both engineering officers, have stopped their work to nosily look at what’s happening inside Gus’s office with Leyah.

THOMAS  
What’re they doing, do you think?

WALSH  
No idea.

But he seems a little nervous. Like he might have something to hide.

THOMAS  
Well, better get back to it before  
Gus notices.

WALSH  
Right. See you at dinner.

THOMAS  
See you, Oz.

Thomas exits OFF. The camera follows Walsh as he goes to a portion of the ship’s inner workings, near a darker corner, and begins pressing buttons, taking a read-out. He is distracted, however, and looks over his shoulder, back at Gus’s office. It’s only a matter of time before he gets called in and he knows it.

Suddenly, a CLAWED GLITTERY HAND holding a thick white rag clamps down over his mouth, muffling his cry of distress. He is pulled back into the shadowy corner as another hand injects him with the sedative from the injector gun. In a moment, he falls limp in Stiltskin’s grip and is dragged away.

FADE TO BLACK.

FADE IN:

INT. A DIMLY LIT STORAGE HANGAR - A short time later

Walsh is tied to a chair using the medical restraints and self-stick medical tape is wrapped around his head as a gag. He is awake now, his eyes are wide and terrified, he is whimpering pathetically and trying to wiggle free, but Stiltskin’s got him fastened good and tight, his arms tied to the arms of the chair, his legs tied to the front legs.

The doctor is a few feet away with his back to his captive, humming as he sorts through a pile of rubbish in a bin and tossing rejected items away. When he finds something that looks promising (like the future equivalent to a cattle prod), he zaps it in the air a few times then smiles and sets it aside for use. Walsh just begins to cry even more pathetically and we get the feeling that something very bad is about to happen.

Stiltskin selects from his implements of destruction a long piece of metal tubing which is hooked at one end and rotates on his heel toward Walsh. The smile on Stiltskin’s face is absolutely chilling, and when he speaks, there is little trace of the ‘mad scientist’ he so often appears to be. He is deadly calm as he slowly advances on Walsh, though he does put in a bit of swagger as he uses the pipe like a makeshift cane, swinging it a little as he walks, like a dapper gentleman of old.

STILTSKIN  
(regarding the crying)  
Oh, do shut up.

He presses the bend of the pipe across Walsh’s throat, slowly cutting off his air supply until he chokes and has to stop his crying. The engineer’s eyes are wide, begging without words. Stiltskin continues, unrushed.

STILTSKIN (CONT)  
When I let you breathe, you’re going  
to give me two sentences. First,  
you will tell me where it is. Second,  
you’re going to tell me who told  
you to take it. Because I know you  
didn’t get the idea to rob me all by yourself.  
No, you’re just a little monkey,  
dancing for your grinder, aren’t you?

Walsh’s eyes bulge.

STILTSKIN (CONT)  
Oh, yes. I know all about whose  
pet you are. And as long as you  
give it back to me, I might not have  
to kill you.  
(beat)  
Two sentences. You understand me?

He pulls the pipe away and Walsh gasps, then -

WALSH  
I didn’t know what it was when I took it--

Stiltskin pulls back, clearly disappointed in him, and the calm disappears, leaving only black fury in its place.

STILTSKIN  
WRONG. SENTENCE.

He SMASHES the pipe down on Walsh’s left hand. Walsh screams, then--

WALSH  
Stiltskin, please!

But Stiltskin isn’t interested in listening to platitudes. He swings the pipe over and over, like a mallet. The camera stays tight on his face, not showing the impact on Walsh, just the fury of the doctor.

STILTSKIN  
WHERE IS IT? WHERE IS IT?

WALSH  
(at the same time)  
Stop! Stop! Please! She told me to--!  
I just wanted to make her happy--!

Stiltskin continues to beat on Walsh, his words punctuated by the swings of the metal pipe-- and something slips out:

STILTSKIN  
You gave it to her? Do you have   
any idea what you’ve DONE?  
(beginning to break down)  
You had no right! It was all I had  
left of her! All I had left and  
now I’ll never see her again!

It becomes clear that he’s talking about two different ‘her’s, but in his frenzy, he’s not making a lot of sense. Stiltskin raises the pipe again, but at the peak of the arc a hand grabs the pipe, stopping him. He turns, shocked out of his tirade.

It’s Leyah.

LEYAH  
Stop.

 

END OF ACT TWO.

 

 

* * *

 ACT THREE

 FADE IN:

INT. BRIG - Day

Stiltskin is cooling his heels inside a barred cell which is stark and empty of everything but a bench to sleep on and a washing up station in the corner. He looks bored and unconcerned about his situation.

Leyah enters, placing a few items on a nearby desk, and eyes Stiltskin like she’s disappointed in his behavior. She doesn’t understand what provoked such an extreme reaction from the doctor.

LEYAH  
You’re lucky someone noticed Walsh  
was missing. If I hadn’t stopped you,  
you might have permanently injured him.

STILTSKIN  
You have a funny definition of lucky.

LEYAH  
You have a funny definition of justice.  
(beat)  
Just what did he do to you?

STILTSKIN  
He stole.

But he hasn’t even glanced at the pile on the desk. The trinkets there (a few of his trophies from the past episodes) mean nothing to him.

LEYAH  
If that’s really the reason, then I’d say  
you kind of over-reacted.  
(gestures to the pile)  
Anyway, we found all this in Walsh’s  
bunk. I’m gonna need you to go  
through it, make sure I recovered it all--

STILTSKIN  
(interrupting)  
You’ve recovered nothing. There isn’t  
anything there that’s important to me.

LEYAH  
Seriously?! After all that? And ending up  
in the brig? There’s nothing?

STILTSKIN  
(a long beat)  
There’s only one thing that I want.

Leyah is about to ask him what he means when the door opens and Miss Greenie sashays in.

MISS GREENIE  
Leyah, dear, they’re asking for you  
down in med bay. Since our Chief  
Medical Officer is--  
(smiles at Stiltskin)  
\--otherwise occupied--

He glowers at her.

MISS GREENIE (CONT)  
\--they need your expertise in putting  
poor Ozzy back together.

Leyah glances at Stiltskin.

LEYAH  
But--

MISS GREENIE  
Oh, I’ll keep an eye on your prisoner  
if you like. Better not keep them waiting,  
I very much doubt Lieutenant Knight  
knows how to set a broken bone.

Leyah sighs, knows she has to at least go and see if they really do need help.

LEYAH  
(to Stiltskin)  
I’ll be back as soon as I can.  
Then we can talk to Hook about  
getting you released.

Miss Greenie waves after her as Leyah leaves the brig.

MISS GREENIE  
Toodle-pip!

Left alone with Stiltskin, she turns her attention back to him, the cat who has the mouse right where she wants him.

STILTSKIN  
Well. You really wanted to have that talk,  
didn’t you.

MISS GREENIE  
Apparently this was the only way I  
could do it. Get you somewhere you  
couldn’t run away.

STILTSKIN  
Never thought you’d stoop to robbery.

MISS GREENIE  
(scoffs)  
Please. I never get my own hands dirty.

She sits on the desk, shoving his things aside with a scoot of her bum. She slowly crosses her legs, every inch the fatal attraction, but Stiltskin isn’t even looking at her. He’s just staring at the opposite wall, seething.

STILTSKIN  
So you did put him up to it. I don’t know  
why you continue to pester me like  
this. You’ve already got a plaything.

MISS GREENIE  
Yes. But someone’s broken him.  
Poor Ozzy.  
(smiles)  
It wasn’t hard to figure out, you know.  
I just told him to wait until you were  
needed in surgery and _voila._

STILTSKIN  
I really don’t care how you concocted  
your master plan, dearie.

The endearment is an insult and Miss Greenie knows it. He finally looks at her and they eye each other through the bars.

STILTSKIN (CONT)  
When two people both want something  
the other has, a deal can always be  
made. You know what I want. So,  
what is it that you want?

She leans forward. This is the moment she’s been waiting for.

MISS GREENIE  
Dinner. You and me. Together.

STILTSKIN  
I’d rather chew off my own leg.

Miss Greenie’s smile slips. She hadn’t foreseen that he wouldn’t cooperate.

STILTSKIN  
I told you before when you started  
all this nonsense: I am a married man.  
A very happily married man, who wants  
nothing more than to get home to his wife.

MISS GREENIE  
That’s all well and good, but there’s no  
guarantee we’ll ever get home. And  
even if we do, what’s the likelihood  
your little wifey will have waited for you?  
It could be years before we even nudge  
the edges of our own galaxy.  
What if she’s moved on?

And yeah-- that hurt. It was intended to. But Stiltskin is adamant and practically growls at her--

STILTSKIN  
You know NOTHING about her!

Miss Greenie actually snaps backward at the feral expression on his face. This is one of those moments where it is painfully obvious how alien Stiltskin is. Her comment definitely touched a nerve.

He takes a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself and sits back, but his calm is false. His muscles are tight, as if tensed to attack at any moment.

STILTSKIN (CONT)  
Regardless… I would never - ever -  
throw away the only happiness I’ve  
known over a fictitious future of your  
making.

MISS GREENIE  
You’re a fool.

STILTSKIN  
I love my wife. I trust her.

Without looking at her, he holds out his hand, palm up.

STILTSKIN (CONT)  
I’ll have my property returned now,  
thank you.

Miss Greenie is furious. She hops off the desk, getting to her feet.

MISS GREENIE  
Such a lot of fuss--

She reaches in between her bosoms and retrieves a small item.

MISS GREENIE (CONT)  
\--for something so small?

Between her fingers she holds a man’s gold ring, set with a blue stone. Stiltskin’s focus has gone razor sharp, his eyes trained on the ring like it’s the only thing in the world. There’s nothing ‘small’ about it. THAT’S WHAT THIS HAS BEEN ABOUT.

SUPERIMPOSED OVER the image of Miss Greenie holding the ring:

INT/EXT. FLASHBACK - SOMEWHERE IN TIME

A hazy vision of slender human female hands slipping the ring onto Stiltskin’s clawed hand.

DISSOLVE TO:

INT/EXT. FLASHBACK - SAME

Another hazy vision of Stiltskin’s hands holding the same human female hands. A red ribbon is tied around their joined hands. A diamond ring shines on her third finger. It is obviously a handfasting ceremony of some type and the ring is obviously his wedding ring. It’s his only tie to his far-away wife, his only connection to her while they are lost out in space. This ring means the universe to him.

DISSOLVE TO:

INT. BRIG - SAME TIME

The image dissolves to a close of Stiltskin’s face. He can hardly breathe, his whole focus is centered on that ring and knowing it is currently too far away for him to grab.

MISS GREENIE (CONT)  
(dismissively)  
Such a touching little keepsake.

She makes no move to give it to him, handling it carelessly.

MISS GREENIE (CONT)  
(huffy)  
Well, since you’re too stupid to take  
me up on my generous offer…  
I’ll just toss this out the nearest  
airlock since I have no further use for it.

She’s expecting him to panic and accept her deal. But she’s underestimated him.

He gets to his feet like a snake uncoiling itself and oozes closer to the bars, curling his clawed hands around them slowly but with leashed lethality.

STILTSKIN  
(darkly)  
As you pointed out to our dear  
commander… I am the Chief Medical  
Officer. And I won’t be in here forever.  
Them’s the breaks on a ship without  
a full complement of crew. Hook simply  
needs me too much to keep me confined.  
With the way he so often ‘handles’  
things, it won’t be too long before  
you’re in need of my expertise.  
(significantly)  
And it might be that I won’t  
feel so inclined to help.

Miss Greenie is looking rather pale. She doesn’t mistake his meaning one bit.

STILTSKIN (CONT)  
Tell me, dearie… Are you really willing  
to risk your own life just to make me  
wriggle like a fish on a line because  
I won’t dance to your tune?

Miss Greenie knows she’s been beaten and she does NOT like it. It’s obvious that each of them have cranked the bizarre anti-relationship between them up to a new level and neither one is about to back down.

She steps up to the bars, looking down at him, but she doesn’t intimidate him at all. She’s a petulant child who wants what she can’t have.

MISS GREENIE  
You’ll regret this.

And with that, she turns to go. Stiltskin almost panics behind her back when it appears that she isn’t going to return the ring, but at the last moment, she swings around.

MISS GREENIE (CONT)  
Here! Have your precious ring!  
See if it keeps you warm!

She tosses the ring carelessly at him through the bars on her way out, like she wishes it was a brick to throw at his head. The doors whizz shut behind her.

Miss Greenie has quite an arm on her and Stiltskin misses catching the ring. He scrambles onto the floor, crawling on his hands and knees underneath the bench to search for it.

He backs out and remains sitting on the floor, looking at the ring in his hand. CLOSE ON the ring as he brushes dust from it, turning it just so - we can see an engraving on the inside - Lacey. (The full engraving reads ‘All my love, Lacey’ but this doesn’t have to be featured.)

He cups it in his hand, carefully, lovingly. There are tears in his eyes as he sits, forlorn, on the floor of the cell. Slowly, reverently, he places the ring on the third finger of his left hand. The tears fall when he closes his eyes to press a lingering kiss to the blue stone. A kiss he would obviously much rather give to the wife who first placed that ring on his finger. This ring means everything to him. Everything, except, perhaps, returning home.

Closing the hand into a fist, he curls his opposite hand around it, holding it close to his chest, his head bowed. The camera pulls away from him from above, and Stiltskin, this larger-than-life character, suddenly looks so small, sitting by himself in the middle of the brig cell - lost and alone.

FADE TO BLACK.

FADE IN:

INT. MED BAY - Day

Time has passed. Stiltskin is working in the med bay at a desk with a bank of six flat-screen computer monitors, all with something different on the display. But he works with blazing speed and doesn’t seem to have any trouble keeping up with the six screens. We see HIS RING as he types.

Behind him, the doors to med bay open and LIEUTENANT KNIGHT (fourth in command after Hook, Leyah, and Charming) pops in. He is a tall and striking man. His uniform, with command red embellishments, makes his shoulders look even bigger.

KNIGHT  
Dr Stiltskin, we just received word from  
the team. It seems the captain’s run into  
some trouble on the away mission. Would  
you mind preparing for the worst?

STILTSKIN  
When do I prepare for anything else?

Knight grins at the quip and Stiltskin rolls his eyes. Trouble is all the captain ever gets into.

STILTSKIN (CONT)  
Just a minute.

He rotates his chair away, giving Knight his back.

STILTSKIN (CONT)  
(more to himself)  
Must put my valuables in a safe place.

He opens a metal security drawer in his desk with a thumb scanner. The tech looks pretty much brand new and like the desk was cut to accommodate it.

When the drawer pops open, the little dish is sitting inside. Stiltskin twists his ring to remove it and gives it a brief kiss before placing it in the dish. Its ‘safe place.’

SHOT OF Stiltskin, the camera angled up at him from the drawer. He has a wistful little half-smile on his face, full of longing and remembrance. This is the final shot before Stiltskin slams the drawer shut and--

CUT TO BLACK.

We hear, muffled:

STILTSKIN (V.O.)  
Alright, what has that blasted space  
pirate gotten himself into this time?

 

END OF EPISODE.

 

ROLL CREDITS.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Yep, I wrote a script for a show that doesn't exist. That's how obsessed I am over Worry's "Friendships and Fandoms." Her fic has spawned not just this work, but a bevvy of side-blogs run by people who are embodying the characters from her fic. It is truly remarkable. She's made me want to sit down and write a whole story arc for the characters of Star Force! Talking with Worry has been a highlight for me as a writer. This was so much fun. I hope we can collab again!


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